Clifford Chance has advised Symrise AG on its submission of a binding offer for the acquisition of all shares in Kerisper S.A.S., France, the holding company of Diana Group, from private equity investor Ardian Funds (formerly Axa Private Equity), Paris.

After finalisation of the customary French consultation process with the workers’ council of Diana, the owners of Diana Group can conclude a share purchase agreement by accepting the offer. The parties agreed on exclusivity for the duration of this process. Symrise plans to invest nearly EUR 1.3 billion in this transaction.

Diana is a leading supplier to the food, pet food, nutraceutical, aquaculture and cosmetics industries. It generated sales of around EUR 425 million in 2013 and employs around 2,000 people.

Symrise AG, headquartered in Holzminden, Germany, is a global provider of flavours and fragrances and active ingredients for cosmetics. With turnover of EUR 1.735 billion in 2012, the company is one of the top four scent producers in the world.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Christof-Ulrich Goldschmidt (Corporate, Frankfurt) and comprised partner Marc Besen and associate Dr. Dimitri Slobodenjuk (both Antitrust, Düsseldorf), partner Bettina Steinhauer and counsel Dr. Mattias von Buttlar (both Banking & Capital Markets, Frankfurt), partner Dr. Thomas Stohlmeier and counsel Dr. Christian Vogel (both Corporate, Düsseldorf) as well as transaction lawyers Moritz Erdmann and Ömer Cilingir (both Corporate, Frankfurt). A team from the Clifford Chance Paris office also worked on the deal and comprised among others partner Catherine Astor-Veyes and associate Michael Samol (both Corporate) and partner Eric Davoudet and associate Britta Hardeck (both Tax).

A team led by Dr. Christof-Ulrich Goldschmidt recently successfully represented Symrise AG in interim injunction proceedings at Munich Regional Court brought by Ritter Sport against Stiftung Warentest.